The Lord of the Rings: Lords of Middle-earth.

Chapter 687 Loving Your Unruly Nature
"Bang!" To everyone's astonishment, Ismir awkwardly put his hands behind his back to hide what he was holding.

So everyone looked up at the sky again, where a dazzling magical pattern was flashing. Fortunately, there weren't many clouds tonight, and the magical distress signal could be clearly seen from dozens of miles away.

……

"What happened?" The whistling sound of flapping wings came from the sky, and before they even landed, a figure jumped down first. Then a small sun appeared on the scene... blinding everyone's eyes.

The newcomer was none other than Renault, who had remained at Lulong Fortress. Although the dragon knights and dragon riders had left the kingdom, the griffons were still stationed there, maintaining communication between Lulong Fortress and Swiftstream City (after all, if magical communication was deliberately blocked by magic, then human transmission was the only option; Swiftstream City had a knightly order that could launch a forced assault, so the griffon knights were left behind at Lulong Fortress). Upon seeing the signal, Renault couldn't wait and had the griffon knights take him to Windhelm Town.

Soon, the two griffin riders also descended and began to circle in the sky. They also casually cast several magic illumination scrolls. These basic scrolls were cheap, practical, and easy to use, and there were plenty of them; basically, every soldier would keep a few on hand.

When the illumination magic lit up the area below, Ismir was stunned. Nearly a thousand goblin knights stood in formation, spears pointed at them, with the old goblin who had just been arguing with them and their chieftain at the forefront...

Ismir could hardly believe that the two of them had just been commanding an army of thousands, and these goblins hadn't even bothered to crush them—they were incredibly kind-hearted!
This is why Ismir, this country bumpkin, was surprised. After all, anyone with a little knowledge of the Empire knows that barbarian goblins, like centaurs, are neutral and lawful races, and they used to have another name—Middle-earth mercenaries!

The wild goblins once had their glory days. Although they had no fixed territory or kingdom, they still managed to create their own civilization! Unable to farm or forge, they chose a nomadic, hunting and fishing lifestyle. With their ability to tame their companion monsters, the Boars, they successfully established themselves in Middle-earth. Through the trials of war, they made the name of the Trio resound throughout Middle-earth!
The three classes of knights refer to: Human Knights, Death Knights, and Goblin Knights. These are the only three knightly professions in Middle-earth! That's right, Goblin Knights are true knights! They are not mounted warriors like the Orc Wolf Riders or the Elf Moon Deer Riders; they are true knightly professionals! This means they can also learn skills such as the honor of human knights, and theoretically, they could even become dragon knights... though no dragon would likely be interested in them.

The Savage Goblins are both powerful and weak. Their power lies in their high reproductive rate, and the fact that 100% of Savage Goblins can become professionals! This has led to the evolution of several professional branches: Goblin Knights, Goblin Prophets (Spellcasters), Goblin Spear Throwers (Archers), Goblin Warriors, and Goblin Scouts (Assassins)! They boast a complete range of unit types, and since Savage Goblins are skilled at raising boars, most will become Goblin Knights! Their weakness stems from their physical limitations, resulting in lower total battle aura and magic power compared to other races of the same tier. Furthermore, they almost never produce high-level professionals, and their lifespan of only a hundred years or so is a significant drawback. Therefore, in the Lord of the Rings games, Savage Goblins have always been used as cheap cannon fodder.

"Wild Goblins?" Renault's gaze faltered as he slightly withdrew the holy light surrounding him. The sight of those pigs had clearly stunned him, and it was obvious that this horde of boar riders had also brought considerable shock to Renault.

“It’s like this…” Ismir pulled Renault aside and whispered something in his ear. Renault nodded repeatedly, his eyes darting around, clearly having come up with an idea.

"Humans! We savage goblins have no intention of waging war with you!" Chief Alistar rode out on a boar that was noticeably half a head taller than the others and addressed Reno. He clearly recognized Reno as the highest-ranking officer present.

"The war has already begun, hasn't it?" Renault snorted coldly, his previously indifferent face now showing indifference.

"Huh?" Ismir's eyes widened. This wasn't what he had just said, was it? Roll off General Reno! What filthy thing?

"What do you want, humans!" Chief Alistar gritted his teeth, gripping his short gun tightly. "..." Ymir and Ismir glanced at the thin piece of iron, which had been worn smooth and shiny, and were speechless. These barbaric goblins seemed to be really poor! Even their weapons were made of wood, stone, and bone; they had virtually no metal weapons.

Clearly, the barbarian goblins were aware of their weapon limitations. Although they were professionals with battle aura, their strength did not allow them to attach their battle aura to wooden clubs and pierce through heavy armor. Furthermore, the griffin riders in the sky also terrified them.

"Since you're here, stay! You should at least give an explanation for trespassing into our country, right? So, you will stay and fight for the kingdom!" Renault's voice was calm and unquestionable, as if it were only natural for these goblins to join the kingdom. He showed no fear whatsoever and calmly looked around before speaking.

"You've gone too far, human!" Alistar's muscles bulged, ready to pounce at any moment! He saw how troublesome the human in front of him was and was prepared to fight to the death. Although the barbarian goblins were not very tall, averaging only 1.2 meters, their powerful limbs still gave them strength and combat power no less than that of ordinary human soldiers!
"The barbarian goblins will never be slaves!" Alistar roared, and the goblin knights behind him also roared in a low voice. This imposing manner startled Ymir and Ismir.

Ymir was starting to panic. He had only wanted to extort money from these barbaric goblins, but things had escalated to the point of fighting...

“I remember you guys are mercenaries, right?” Renault suddenly asked.

"Do you wish to pledge allegiance to the kingdom?" Renault elegantly tossed a gold coin he had pulled from his pocket at the menacing barbarian goblin.

As a result, the goblins' eyes followed the glittering gold coin up and down, and all of them stared at the coin with longing in their eyes.

"You're dreaming! Savage goblins yearn for freedom and the fields..." Alistar said disdainfully. Living under someone else's roof? Savage goblins aren't like those burrowing goblins! Savage goblins will never be slaves!
"The kingdom is paying you! In gold coins! And they'll even provide weapons!" Renault interrupted before Alistar could finish speaking.

“You think we would submit… It is our honor to serve the kingdom!” Alistar suddenly did a complete 180-degree turn, smoothly flipping off the pig’s back and sincerely kneeling on one knee in front of Renault.

“…” Ymir and Ismir exchanged a stunned glance.

"Well, I still prefer your rebellious self from just now. Please try to come back to your old self!" Renault bent down and patted Alistar on the shoulder.

“Aba aba…” Alistar was at a loss.